Mr. Pearson argued that shotgun shells found in the trunk of his car during a traffic stop on January 15, 2008 should have been excluded during his eventual murder trial because the search of the his car was not incidental to his arrest for impaired driving. The trial judge dismissed that argument and the Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed with that ruling:
The officer arrested Mr. Pearson for impaired driving. He searched Mr. Pearson’s vehicle incident to arrest, finding shotgun shells in a knapsack in the trunk. The arrest of Mr. Pearson for impaired driving was lawful. The search was undertaken to look for marijuana and by a police officer who was not involved at all in the homicide investigations. Discovery of marijuana in the trunk of Mr. Pearson’s car and in his knapsack would have some probative value on the issue of whether his ability to drive was impaired by marijuana. There was a reasonable basis for the officer’s actions and a reasonable prospect of finding evidence of the offence for which Mr. Pearson had been arrested. R. v. Pearson, 2017 ONCA 389